Carl Bean, preacher, activist and gospel artist who sang the gay pride anthem “I Was Born This Way,” has died at 77, according to reports.
A statement from the Unity Fellowship Church Movement, which was founded in 1982 by Bean for Black LGBTQ+ worshippers, said he made a “transition into eternal life” following a lengthy illness.
“Archbishop Bean worked tirelessly for the liberation of the underserved and for LGBTQ people of faith and in doing so, helped many around the world find their way back to spirituality and religion,” the church said.
Bean, who was openly gay, released the song “I Was Born This Way” in 1977, which ended up being the inspiration for Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” in 2011, according to the New York Post.
“Born This Way, my song and album, were inspired by Carl Bean, a gay black religious activist who preached, sung and wrote about being ‘Born This Way,’” Lady Gaga wrote in May, reported by the Post.
Born This Way, my song and album, were inspired by Carl Bean, a gay black religious activist who preached, sung and wrote about being “Born This Way.” Notably his early work was in 1975, 11 years before I was born. pic.twitter.com/92oIuPQYHs
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) May 24, 2021
“Thank you for decades of relentless love, bravery, and a reason to sing,” Gaga continued. “So we can all feel joy, because we deserve joy. Because we deserve the right to inspire tolerance, acceptance, and freedom for all.”
My dear friend, Archbishop Carl Bean, the founder of Minority AIDS Project LA & a leader who helped awaken America to the AIDS pandemic, has passed. We worked together to initiate minority AIDS funding in the federal budget that has helped save countless lives. RIP my friend.
— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) September 8, 2021
Other trailblazing moments in Bean’s career include founding the Minority AIDS Project in 1985, “TODAY” reported. According to the outlet, “the organization continues to provide services for HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care for low-income people of color in Los Angeles.”
🧵More sad news fam...HIV/AIDS activist Archbishop Carl Bean, the founder of Minority AIDS Project and Unity Fellowship Church--often nicknamed the Black gay church for being the country's 1st Black church affirming of the #LGBTQ community has transitioned and is now an ancestor. pic.twitter.com/r5bOBhyPtj
— Jasmyne Cannick (@Jasmyne) September 7, 2021
In 2019, “Archbishop Carl Bean Square” was designated at an intersection in Los Angeles, according to “TODAY.”
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